Weekender with Alison Cuddy

February 10, 2012

These are the days of hearts and flowers for many people. How would we get through the dull hours of February without scads of chocolate, cinnamon hearts and frilly cards?!

Me, I’ve got my mind on a different, less pretty topic: death. Honestly I’m not the morbid type. First it was just a fluke - I stumbled across the Museum of Mourning Photography and Mourning Practice while researching some of Chicago’s smaller museums. Stay tuned for more on their intriguing and solemn collection.

But the more I looked around town, the more I started to feel like that kid in The Sixth Sense. Take Morbid Curiosity, which recently kicked off at the Chicago Cultural Center. The show's a real deep dive into death – across cultures and time. To think that one collector managed to amass over a thousand tchotchkes related to the afterlife – man I’d hate to have to clean up after he’s gone!

Speaking of the afterlife, and depending on your spiritual leanings, Heaven + Hell may also appeal - it's the new exhibition at Intuit Gallery.

Local "death synth" group MR666 (apparently Chicago's the capital of this engimatic music genre) provides the perfect soundtrack for a weekend inspired by cultural musings on death. More lighthearted, valentine-friendly picks are below – enjoy!